Project and trajectory control of an autonomous aerator for aquaculture

Abstract

Aquaculture has resorted to the use of technology to make control of important variables and improve production. There are two problems observed in the Marine Aquaculture Station - EMA of the Federal University of Rio Grande (Brazil), more specifically related to the aeration of the culture tanks to pisciculture and carciniculture. Firstly, the high energy consumption of the paddle aerators was identified, due to the continuous need to oxygenate the water. Subsequently, it was noted that static aerators do not aerate the water evenly and its require that their placement be done manually by technicians or assistants. Thus, the article proposes a design of an autonomous aerator with electric power coming from a photovoltaic solar energy system. In the sequence, a navigation system for the aerator is proposed along the tank, based on a differential performance of the motors connected to the paddle. This paper also presents the kinematic modeling of the system and a control of trajectory simulation.